Are you an Xbox fan or a PlayStation fan? It's a question that seems to be even more heavily weighted than ever before, especially with the highly advanced Project Scorpio on the horizon. Those who side with Sony or Microsoft seem vehemently opposed to those on the other half of the line. Which side are you on? You could probably name off your favorite system very quickly. Even if you have both, there's probably one that you use more for gaming and the other is a sort of glorified streaming service box. It happens. There's just not enough time in our lives or money in our pockets generally to devote to two systems so we have to pick one.

This is one excuse. The other is the simplest one; maybe we just like one more than the other. And what's wrong with that? So you're a Sony fanboy/girl or a Xbox lover, what does it matter? There's seriously no reason to start a fight between the two. The PlayStation 4 Pro released sooner than Project Scorpio. Does that make it better because it was higher technology first? Project Scorpio is releasing later, but it's more advanced. Does that make it better because it has higher level technology? That's the current argument. PS4 Pro is better because it was here first, and Scorpio is better because it just is. When you boil the argument down, it just feels silly like a schoolyard fight. “I get the swing 'cause I was here first! Well I get the swing 'cause I'm bigger than you.” A teacher usually has to come by and relegate the kids to their own swings because they were too busy arguing to realize they didn't even have to fight.

Console wars between Microsoft and Sony, between the PlayStation and the Xbox, are the same thing. Fans are too busy arguing with each other over which is better to realize they don't even need to fight at all. The video game industry is big enough that fans of either console can stick to their own spheres of gaming without having to intersect much at all with the other. And when they do, we can be amicable! Sure the Internet is a big bad anonymous place where everyone can be a tool and a troll with little to no consequences. Those people are always going to exist, but I think we've got a pretty good handle on who they are and we can simply ignore it.

The other biggest factor for console wars being a bit inane is the fact that friendly competition is what drives change and development. Would Google Chrome exist if Mozilla Firefox hadn't tried to compete with Internet Explorer? Possibly. The current reality is more likely though, Chrome came about because Google wanted to offer options that its competitors didn't already have. A little friendly competition between browsers has led to even better ones. There are others in the race now, like Microsoft's Edge. Chrome is always updating to be better than before.

Because the Xbox systems have the PlayStation systems to compete with, we're getting the technologically advanced Scorpio some time soon. Without one, the other wouldn't have as much need to change and a reason to come up with better tech. At the very least, they wouldn't be driven to do it as quickly. A little competition never hurt anyone. I feel I got better grades in a handful of my Film Studies classes in college because I knew there was one other student in the class that could rival me. His papers were apparently visionary, and I just knew I had to compete with him for the top spot. It's thanks to him (Hi, Tyler!) that my professor remembers me to this day.

It's the same reason why consoles are better when there are more of them. So you like the PlayStation 4 better than the Xbox One. That's great! Maybe Joe Schmo over here likes the Xbox One more than the PlayStation 4; that's great too. Between the two of you, you're supporting a healthy competition that allows the industry to move forward. Bravo you! Bravo Jo Schmo! That might sound like sarcasm, but it truly isn't. The fight between the consoles to be the top dog really benefits everyone in the end. Us as the consumers because we get better systems as time goes on, and them as the developers of the tech because they can't be complacent. In the name of the console wars, I now pronounce all of us the winners!